Have you ever thought of teaching children who are exceptional and specially abled? Then yes, you are at the right place.
Why should we focus on special education?
Equality is a key concept in the Indian system. Inclusive education ensures equity in India. It includes the education of all students having various IQs from different backgrounds and students from all sectors of life being given equal opportunity for education. Have you ever thought of teaching children who are exceptional and specially abled? Have you ever felt empathy towards differently abled children? Then yes, you are at the right place.
Why should we focus on special education?
Equality is a key concept in the Indian system. Inclusive education ensures equity in India. It includes the education of all students having various IQs from different backgrounds and students from all sectors of life being given equal opportunity for education. In 1995, the Person Disabilities Act demanded the education of children with special educational needs. These include differently abled students studying along with normal students in the same studying environment and classroom climate.
What is a Diploma in Special Education?
Diploma in Special Education is a two-year course that enables the learner to understand the various types of learners, their educational needs, approaches, and pedagogy to teach them, and the skill to handle them. The main educational qualification for this course is higher secondary education. It enables the student-teacher to support students having visual, hearing, or mental struggles. It also helps the teacher to motivate the students.
What is the scope of the Special Education Diploma?
Interact with various types of learners
There are different types of learning styles in students. This includes exceptional children, gifted children, and slow learners. This classification is based on the intelligence level of the students, which is measured through intelligence tests. The normal teacher tries to balance the content provided in the classroom, considering average intelligent students. But, a teacher must know the different types of intelligence that a child possesses. The same approach cannot be applied to all students in a class. For example, bright students will need only guidance, whereas average students might require the teacher to teach them. And the special children need to get care, patience, and effort from the teacher beyond the normal content delivery. So, the teacher should be trained to teach the students based on their abilities.
It helps identify the right pedagogy for approaching the learner
The students can be classified as auditory learners, kinesthetic learners, visual learners, and reading & writing learners. They all require different approaches to learn effectively. Some might learn through practice, some through repeated reading, some while doing activities. So, a perfect teacher can incorporate multisensory approaches and styles in teaching and learning.
It helps understand the needs of students and to develop abilities to handle them
Starting from the basic amenities like food, cloth, and shelter, a student requires satisfaction to move forward. This might include resolving issues in the family, overcoming economic hurdles, or even supporting students who are facing mental issues. So, a good teacher should be prepared to understand the students’ requirements and find effective solutions for their support.
Develop new learning aids to make teaching and learning more interesting
Each student is unique. The pedagogy that a teacher applies must not be equally sufficient for every child. So, according to the developments in society, new and developed tools or aids should be utilised during teaching. This could help to remove the usual monotonous lecture method followed by all.
It helps give equal consideration to all children.
The teachers, who are trained in Special Education, can look at all children with no bias. They would be able to give proper attention to those who require them. Also they would provide a healthy environment where everyone learns together. The services could be shared with equity.
What are the skills one should focus on while pursuing this Diploma in Special Education?
It’s not only about things that we learn from the course. It also requires the learner to possess some level of skill set. These include;
- Empathy
Feeling sympathy towards someone is innate in humans, but to work with them and help them during tough times, requires an extra mile effort. For students with special education needs, the teacher should be a friend and support, willing to sacrifice their time and effort.
- Patience and tolerance
Children who have varied intelligence levels might not understand things in one go. They must need repeated support and continued supervision. For that, a special education teacher should be patient enough. They should understand children’s behavior and be tolerant enough to find the reasons for their acts and give them a hand.
- Commitment towards children
This profession is not about money. It is the satisfaction that a teacher receives at the end. It is not a short-term process, where one could learn a course, get a job and just relax. It is helping someone live and accomplish that. So, dedication and commitment are required from the side of teachers. True passion for serving others is required.
- Imagination
The teacher trained in special education should find new teaching methods and aids to make their teaching effective. So, a creative and imaginative mind will help the teachers to do these things.
- Acceptance
The teacher should be able to accept the individuality of each child. Besides that, she should be able to accept that no one is perfect in this world.
- Good Communication Skills
The teacher, who is meant to teach special children, should communicate with the children effectively. They should be flexible enough to face situations and to respond according to them with a calm pace.
What is the career scope in India for special Education?
The demand for such qualified teachers in India is increasing day by day. Since these teachers are more trained and specialized, they can easily contribute to the inclusive education system in India. And looking at the monetary perspectives, these teachers get around a starting salary of approximately Rs.25,000. This is not limited to teaching in schools but hospitals, NGOs, governmental organizations, research organizations, and rehabilitation centers. Also, with proper experience, one could even go and teach abroad as well.
One thing to keep in mind, not everyone can help students with exceptional educational needs. Dedicated special educators can provide the children an arena to perform, address their needs and issues, rectify and support them to live along with everyone else. This Diploma in Special Education would bring you a step closer to touching and guiding the life of these special hearts.
These include differently abled students studying along with normal students in the same studying environment and classroom climate.
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